RULES OF THE WESTERLEY CYCLING CLUB

Name

The Club shall be called “The Westerley Cycling Club’’.

Purpose

The purpose of the Club is to promote and provide facilities for the amateur sport of cycling based in West London and community participation in the same.

Membership and subscriptions

1. Membership of the Club shall be open to anyone interested in the sport on application regardless of sex, age, disability, ethnicity, nationality, sexual orientation, religion or other beliefs. However, limitation of membership according to available facilities is allowable on a non discriminatory basis.
2. The Club may have different classes of membership and subscription on a non discriminatory and fair basis. The Club will keep subscriptions at levels that will not pose a significant obstacle to people participating.
3. The Club Committee may refuse membership, or remove it, only for good cause such as conduct or character likely to bring the Club or sport into disrepute. Appeal against refusal or removal may be made to the members.
4. No member can be expelled unless he/she is given notice of the intentions of the Committee to proceed against him/her and is given an opportunity of defending himself/herself at a meeting of the Committee or before the Club in General Meeting.
5. Sociable members are restricted to competing only in the Sociable 10.
6. Second claim members wishing to change to first claim membership shall notify the General Secretary in writing.
7. Members shall be termed “Junior Members’’ until 31 December of the year in which their eighteenth birthday occurs.
8. The annual subscription for each class of membership shall be such an amount as the members of the Club at any General meeting from time to time resolve.
9. Should any member not pay his/her subscription by the last Friday in February in any year the Treasurer shall write notifying such member that his/her subscription remains unpaid. If the subscription still remains unpaid, the member shall be liable to be ruled a non-member.
10. If a new member joins the club after the 31st August then his or her subscription will cover the period up until 31st December of the following year.
11. Members who have completed in excess of 50 years membership will be made life members with no further subscriptions due.
12. Any member who, in the opinion of the Committee has rendered outstanding services to the Club and subsequently ceases to be actively interested, may be absolved from further payments of subscription. Any individual nominated by the Committee as having rendered outstanding services to the Club may be elected as an honorary member at any General Meeting of the Club.
13. The Committee will have due regard to the law on disability discrimination and child protection.

Officers of the club

1. The Officers of the Club shall consist of a President, Vice-Presidents, Treasurer, General Secretary, Race Programme Co-ordinator, Racing Administrator, Awards Secretary, Social secretary, Publicity manager, Timekeepers, and Handicapping Committee of three members.
2. The Committee shall consist of the President, Treasurer, General Secretary, Race Programme Co-ordinator, Racing Administrator, Awards Secretary, Social secretary, Publicity manager and sufficient members for a total Committee membership of 12, all of whom shall be elected at the Annual General Meeting.
3. The Committee members may co-opt club members to serve until the end of the next AGM.
4. The quorum for all Committee meetings is 6 members.
5. The chair of the Committee meeting shall have a casting vote.
6. A chairperson who will serve for one year will be elected from the Committee at the first meeting following the AGM.
7. There shall be a panel of not more than twelve Vice-Presidents. Candidates for the office of Vice-President shall be members of the Club. Candidates shall be nominated by the Committee and shall be elected by the Club in General Meeting.
8. The President shall be selected from the panel of Vice Presidents, nominated by the Committee or by the nomination of 5 members of the club. The presidential term of office shall be a period of 3 years. The President can be nominated for a further 3 year term of office but 2 consecutive periods in office will be the maximum allowed.
9. The roles of both President and Vice-President are honorary.
10. The Annual General Meeting shall be held within two calendar months of the end of the Club’s year.
11. The General Secretary must give at least one months' notice to all members of the Club of all Annual General Meetings.
12. A Special General Meeting may be called at the earliest date upon the General Secretary receiving a notice signed by not less than seven members. The General Secretary must give at least seven days’ notice to all members of the Club of all Special General Meetings.
13. All members may attend all General Meetings of the Club in person.
14. The quorum for all General Meetings is 10 members.
15. A chairperson for the AGM/SGM will be elected at the meeting.
16. A motion or amendment before any General Meeting of the Club for the making of new or alteration of existing Rules shall require to be supported by not less than two-thirds of the votes cast. The Committee in case of emergency shall have the power to create or amend Rules provided that such power is not exercised in such manner that any existing Rule is negated.
17. No question shall be considered by the Club in General Meeting unless notice of such question appears in the agenda for that meeting, or permission for its discussion is granted by three-quarters of the members attending and voting at such meeting.
18. Any member of the club may submit a question for the General Meeting in writing to the General Secretary at least one month before the meeting. Such motions must be seconded either in writing or from the floor of the meeting.

Finances

1. The Treasurer shall be responsible to the Committee for the proper accounts and budgets for the club.
2. The clubs financial year shall end on 31st December and its accounts shall be subject to audit approval prior to approval at the AGM.
3. The General Reserve Fund of the Club began when the Clubs ‘Hut’ at Chalfont, was sold in the 1960’s. It has since been combined with the Life Membership Fund, and various legacies - particularly those from Percy Marks and Les Ames. Money from this fund shall only be spent by the express decision of the Westerley Cycling Club Committee.

Property and Funds

1. The property and funds of the Club cannot be used for the direct or indirect private benefit of members other than as reasonably allowed by the Rules and all surplus income or profits are reinvested in the club.
2. The Club may provide sporting and related social facilities, sporting equipment, coaching, courses, insurance cover, medical treatment, expenses, refreshments and other ordinary benefits of Community Amateur Sports Clubs as provided for in the Finance Act 2002.
3. The Club may also in connection with the sports purposes of the Club: sell and supply food, drink and related sports clothing and equipment;employ members (though not for cycling/racing) and remunerate them for providing goods and services, on fair terms set by the Committee without the person concerned being present;pay for reasonable hospitality for visiting cycling clubs and guests;indemnify the Committee and members acting properly in the course of the running of the Club against any liability incurred in the proper running of the Club (but only to the extent of its assets).

Winding Up

1. The members may vote to wind up the Club if not less than three quarters of those present and voting support that proposal at a properly convened general meeting.
2. The Committee will then be responsible for the orderly winding up of the Club’s affairs.
3. After settling all liabilities of the Club, the Committee shall dispose of the net assets remaining to one or more of the following: to another Club with similar sports purposes which is a registered charity and/orto another Club with similar sports purposes which is a registered CASC and/orto the Club’s governing body for use by them for related community sports.

Priority

1. Where there is any conflict between any of the above Rules (“key Rules”) and any other rule or rules the key Rule(s) will take priority. Interpretation of all the Rules must be consistent with the statutory requirements for CASCs (which means Community Amateur Sports Clubs as first provided for by the Finance Act 2002.)

RULES FOR CLUB EVENTS AND RECORDS

1. All events shall be under C.T.T. or B.C.F. regulations where applicable.
2. Any member or members establishing a Club Record shall be presented with a suitably inscribed award. Such an award will be commensurate with the level of achievement, subject to the financial position of the Club. To establish a Club Record a member must improve on the existing record by at least one second or, in the case of a track record by at least 1⁄5 th second.
3. Where no Club Record exists a member must equal or improve upon the standard record time.
4. Three members shall constitute a team in events for single bicycles and two tandem pairs shall constitute a team in events for tandem bicycles and to qualify for a Club Team Record each member of a team must ride in the same event.
5. If the same Club Record is broken in more than one event on the same day each performance shall be considered in chronological order and unless the second or subsequent performance improves upon the record established earlier in the day the subsequent performance or performances shall not constitute a record.
6. For the purposes of a Club Team Record, the team will be defined as the fastest three members on completion of the event.
7. If having established a Club Record, other than a team record, a member in the same year improves upon such record performance only one award shall be made, which shall be inscribed with the details of each Club Record..
8. The club season will run from 1st November until the following 31st October, any rides accomplished during this period shall be eligible for trophies.
9. Any member who, on the date of any club event is in debt to the Club for fees due from previous events, shall be barred from competing, and any fee paid for the event in question shall be used in reduction of payment of the debt.
10. Second claim members shall not be eligible to compete for any trophies, shields, medals, records or any item that is given as a club award.
11. The Club Men’s Time Trial Championship shall be awarded on an average speed basis at distances of 25 miles, 50 miles, 100 miles and 12 hours.
12. The Club Men’s Short Time Trial Championship shall be awarded on the basis of the best eight rides (3 x 10 miles), (3 x 25 miles) and (2 x 50 miles). The speed in each of these eight races is calculated and then averaged to give a final figure.”
13. The Club Junior Time Trial Championship shall be awarded on an average speed basis at distances of 10 miles and 25 miles, two events at each distance to count.
14. The Club Women’s Time Trial Championship shall be awarded on an average speed basis at distances of 10 miles, 25 miles and 50 miles.
15. To be eligible for a Club Championship a ride must have been: (a) Accomplished in the Club’s name. (b) Held under the jurisdiction of Cycling Time Trials if a time trial, or under the jurisdiction of British Cycling if a road race; and (c) Accomplished before 31st October in the appropriate year
16. No ride shall be eligible for Club Championships or Club records if achieved in a private time trial in any event whether promoted by the Westerley Cycling Club or otherwise.

THE PRESIDENT’S TROPHY

Members riding in club events and gaining a sufficiently high place in the finishing list, shall be awarded points in relation to the distance. These points to be decided at the commencement of each season by the Committee or an authorised Sub-Committee. Points may be gained in all solo Club time trials and the member with the most points to his/her credit at the end of the season shall hold the trophy for one year.

THE EILEEN ALEXANDER TROPHY

The Eileen Alexander Trophy has the same qualifying criteria as the President’s Trophy, but is eligible for women only.

RULES GOVERNING AWARD OF THE “OLD CROCKS’’ HANDICAP TROPHY

1.No member who has ridden in three events in the current season shall be eligible for this trophy unless over forty years of age.

2.No member under the age of thirty-five shall be eligible to compete for this trophy.